SINGAPOREANS can wait as long as 45 minutes or even an hour to get a carpark lot in Orchard Road this month.
my paper found out that they either make plans in advance on where to park if they are driving to town - or are resigned to getting stuck for at least 30 minutes outside their destination.
It does not help that June is vacation time for students as well as the month of the Great Singapore Sale (GSS).
Drivers say that four of the busiest carparks are in Ngee Ann City, Plaza Singapura, The Cathay and Wheelock Place.
Plaza Singapura, which has the only Golden Village cinema in Orchard, sees film-goers packing the mall on weekend nights. This results in constant jams outside its six-storey carpark and vehicles jumping queues via the taxi lane in Handy Road.
Photographer Nat Koh, 28, said: "I've seen drivers abuse the junction box for this purpose. The queue can reach The Cathay carpark entrance down the road during peak hours."
"The number of cars streaming into Plaza Singapura also seems to be two to three times the quota its carpark can take."
The GSS has also been a tourist draw, with visitor arrivals hitting its second-highest peak in July last year, coinciding with the sale period.
In the case of Ngee Ann City, which boasts more than 130 stores and the popular Takashimaya Department Store, it is no surprise shopper crowds make it an inevitable stop in town.
Mrs Sally Lim, 54, a retiree and a regular at a clubhouse in Ngee Ann City, said she has "stopped driving there and switched to public transport instead, because parking inside Ngee Ann City is scarce and expensive".
